Neighbours cut down trees before completion

[Annemum6]

I've just had an ail from our solicitor saying the neighbour has cut down some trees on the property we are buying. It will be in a small 'wooded' area of the garden which we loved. We've exchanged and were due to complete next week.

I can only assume that they haven't been removed by a proper tree surgeon and that stumps are left. What would you do? Any idea on our options?

complete philistines

Totally agree, my solicitor called me to ask permission to exchange in Feb, and then said you must insure the purchase immediately. So yes definitely home insurance is required upon exchange.

Alrt I’m sorry I will make new thread

Could you live with neighbours like this for years to come?

MadeForThis Tue 22-Jun-21 12:04:33 I would be wary about a potential problem neighbour.

^This with bells on!! I think I would seriously consider pulling out of this house purchase OP. There must be a 'sold' sign on the property so the neighbour knows you've viewed it and would notice the trees have 'disappeared' recently?

Sounds very suspicious.Might they be starting to clear the site?I would very carefully check for planning permission for neighbour's address. Hope that this is not the case but better to be safe.

Is it because the property is empty so the neighbour took the opportunity to go into the garden with a chain saw? THat lovely wooded area might have been over hanging or taking up light or routes causing damage. Go take a look and access for yourself.

I bought a property with trees and they are a pain in the arse, they need maintenance and I cannot get rid due to preservation orders. They might have done you a favour.

they prob had an issue with the trees and felt if they got rid of them nothing the sellers would do and the buyers prob wouldnt notice - but you have! seller shave to notify legally if there are any disputes so this may be why solicitor has contacted you. my neighbours removed trees and dividing patio stones before we moved in, didnt think nothing of it until years later when we cant wash patio because of no drainage and the moan about water going onto their patio and they moved fence boundaries just those few inches. Sort out before you complete as there will be no going back

You need to get a better lawyer. What exactly are the legal fees on a house purchase for if all they do is call you up to tell you the trees have gone, then leave you to get legal advice from mumsnet?

What arseholes. And the estate agents are likely deliberately not getting back to you! They’ll just want the sale done ASAP

I bought a property with trees and they are a pain in the arse, they need maintenance and I cannot get rid due to preservation orders. They might have done you a favour.

Perhaps you should have bought a car park.

@CrabAppleJelly

Each to their own, but I'm glad you're not my neighbour!

The OP said it was a small wooded area. Great for birds, insects and other wildlife. Presumably she was happy to maintain it.

And possibly agree with neighbours about taking down tall shading trees. But the CFs just went in and did they wanted.

I had a similar CF neighbour who didn't like martin poo from the nests in his eaves. He knocked off mine as well. Never saw martins again. Just hope the midges got him.

I'd be driving there, even if at other end of the country! Most expensive thing you're gonna buy, got to be worth dropping everything and looking for yourself

We sold a house with a very large garden to people from overseas.

While the new owners were back in their native country, a neighbour came in and chopped down four sycamores.

The new owners went ballistic and eventually the neighbour was fined around £30,000. Neighbour tried claiming our family had said he could do it and we kyboshed that claim.

They weren't particularly nice trees, to be honest, but he had no right to have them chopped down like that behind their backs. If he'd been reasonable I imagine the new owners might have agreed that they could be dealt with in a less radical way.

Do you really want to live next door to neighbours who would do this sort of thing!

Any update OP? What a stressful time.

If you can, pull out now. This is very underhand and against the law as you have described it. It’s not so much the loss of the trees that’s the problem, although it’s a shame, it’s more the neighbours themselves. Do you want people like this next door?
There are plenty of nice houses out there, but you’ve been given a valuable warning with this one.

@Passenger42

Is it because the property is empty so the neighbour took the opportunity to go into the garden with a chain saw? THat lovely wooded area might have been over hanging or taking up light or routes causing damage. Go take a look and access for yourself.

I bought a property with trees and they are a pain in the arse, they need maintenance and I cannot get rid due to preservation orders. They might have done you a favour.

and he is allowed to remove overhanging branches or encroaching roots provided they aren't protected...but NOT HIS TREES TO REMOVE

Ask your Solliciter?

@Annemum6

It sounds like they did it without asking, but in all honesty the timing seems suspicious to me.

Unfortunately I've only been given the vaguest of information which makes me think the seller is trying to cover herself for how bad it is.

They were mature trees so I'm not sure how you replace them like for like?

I’d be less concerned about the trees and more about moving next to these neighbours!

If you've signed the contract, you will lose your deposit if you don't proceed. You have to take legal advice from a expert property solicitor.

If the vendor lives in the property, there clearly has to have been collusion between them. They may blame each other to try avoid responsibility.
If the property was empty, then the neighbour may just have seized their opportunity. Get it in the local paper, even TV if poss. to embarrass them.

If the trees bothered the neighbour, then I imagine there may already have been bad feeling on the matter between them. This the vendor is obliged to inform you. Whether that could be enough to get you out of the contract or sue the vendor for damages?

There is clearly no good answer to this, what ever happens, you have to live next to these really nasty people for some time. I'm sorry for you.

The idea of replacements isn't too encouraging. A bunch of saplings from B & Q or a conventional garden centre would take decades to become mature. Some specialists may be able to supply and plant more mature trees, which would be mega expensive. Good if they are paying!

Go and have a look before going any further.

@endlessstrife

If you can, pull out now. This is very underhand and against the law as you have described it. It’s not so much the loss of the trees that’s the problem, although it’s a shame, it’s more the neighbours themselves. Do you want people like this next door? There are plenty of nice houses out there, but you’ve been given a valuable warning with this one.

Valuable? It's cost presumably tens of thousands of pounds.

Tricky one. It sounds as though there was some agreement between your seller and their neighbour - perhaps the neighbour wanted the trees down because it blocks their light (or something like that)?
The only possible decent explanation for something like this is that the trees were diseased (for example, the council have had to cut down a swathe of ash in my city, and apparently a quarter of our elms are affected by Dutch elm disease). But, even if this were the case, they should have spoken to you first. I'd be very upset.

Please let us know the outcome. This is odd behaviour. Please tell us the facts when you find out. Best wishes, regardless of the outcome.